ARLINGTON – Yu Darvish lacked his usual high heat Tuesday. He struggled to communicate with his catcher. He failed to field his position.

Nothing, it appears, can stop Yu Darvish.

Pitching essentially with just his slider and later discovering a sinker, Darvish battled through six innings to put himself in position for a win. The Rangers’ late-arriving offense, which always seems to show up in time for Darvish, did the rest in a 10-6 win over Chicago.

“He's got more than a couple of pitches,” said Rangers manager Ron Washington. “He'll find something that he can throw for strikes. He battled tonight. It wasn't easy, but he got it done. When you're taking the ball 32 times, there will be some nights when it's not easy. But that doesn't mean that you give in. He battled and gave us a chance."

It finished off one of the best opening months in Rangers’ history and perhaps the best-ever first month by a Rangers starter. The Rangers finished April 17-9; Darvish 5-1. It’s the second-most wins by the team by the end of April; no Ranger has ever won more games by May 1. And with nine strikeouts Tuesday, Darvish finished April 58, third most by any AL starter in April. Ever.

Tuesday’s start was the ugliest of his six, but Darvish was perhaps at his most determined. It was clear very quickly that he and Geovany Soto, who had caught him only once in the first five games, were having trouble communicating. Darvish said it was due to his inability to see the signs and blamed himself more than Soto.

Darvish tried throwing four-seam fastballs early, but they were ineffective. He gave up four hits in the first inning and fell behind 2-0. He tried again in the second, but shelved the pitch. After the second, he threw only three four-seamers.

He turned more and more to his slider, which has been his best pitch for most of the season, then found the two-seamer in the middle innings to give himself more options.

“I couldn’t get into my rhythm,” Darvish said via a translator. “It wasn’t the smoothest start, per se. … I think I’m more comfortable this year and more able to make adjustments. I’m more relaxed.”

The ability to adjust and the wide array of pitches he has are what have made Darvish so difficult for hitters. He follows no real pattern. He began the season relying on the four-seamer and the cutter, transitioned to the four-seamer and slider by his third start and by the end of Tuesday he had veered away from the fastball. He ended up throwing 18 four-seamers, a season-low, and 45 sliders, a season-high.

After the two-first inning runs, Darvish followed it up with four shutout innings as the Rangers built a 4-2 lead, but in the sixth, his inability to properly field his position ended up costing him.

Darvish failed to get his foot on first base for what would have been the completion of an inning-ending double play. That mistake forced him to pitch to No. 9 hitter DeWayne Wise. When he tried to fool Wise with a 60 mph slow curve, the outfielder simply stayed back and took a batting practice swing and drove the ball into the right field seats to tie the game at four. Darvish then struck out Alejandro De Aza to end the inning.

Though Darvish’s personal “Kia Yuniverse” cheering section curiously disappeared from the start, the pitcher still had plenty of support. The Rangers are averaging 7.2 runs per outing when he pitches and the offense awoke in the sixth

Mitch Moreland, who had struggled against lefties, doubled home a run off lefty Donnie Veal to start the inning. It was Moreland’s third hit of the night against a lefty. The Rangers also scored two runs on wild pitches in the inning and Adrian Beltre added a two-run homer.

“I know I didn’t get the double play,” Darvish said. “And I was disappointed, but I think it fired up the offense.”

“If that’s what he says, it could be,” said a smiling shortstop Elvis Andrus, who had comically mocked Darvish’s dance to touch the bag. “I know this, every time he comes to pitch, we don’t worry about having to score too many runs. I think we relax. And that helps.”

It makes Darvish even more unstoppable.

Catch Evan Grant’s Ranger Reports all season on The Ticket (KTCK-1310 AM) on Tuesdays at 9:35 a.m. with The Musers, Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. with The Hardline and Thursdays at 2:15 p.m. with BaDD Radio.

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